Ariodante

Thanks a lot for all the advice! I've ordered the SB under Fedotov and I'm looking forward to hearing it! As to the Russian company, I wrote to them asking whether it's the same recording as the one on JVC and if not, when it was made. I will keep you posted about it. Best, Iza

No luck yet but while looking for it I came across Fedotov's "Sleeping Beauty" on amazon.com (available!). Is it worth getting? Does it have the same virtues as his SL? Best, Iza

I agree! I am just trying to find it in Poland and maybe will get it, but it's hard to tell at this point. I'll gladly share a copy if I'll get one! I'm afraid that the Bonynge example is not quite valid here because Bonyng was recording for Decca which re-releases their CDs from time to time. Here the case is a bit different because it's not a major company and it is probably too expensive to keep it in print if it's such a well kept secret. It's a great pity but that's how it works. Best, I.

Thanks a lot for your reply and for the clever ideas on how to "play ballet" with kids. I certainly intend to have a lot of "ballet fun" with my niece - it's wonderful that she doesn't need much encouragement and has a great imagination for stories. One of the things I will try to do this time is to focus on pantomime and even use mime in our own communication. I'm looking forward to using your advice in practice - somehow it didn't cross my mind that this kind of exercise that instructional videos offer is probably too "focused" for a kid this age. My concern was the damage that I might inflict on her by inappropriate "teaching" while the truth is that I probably wouldn't even had an occassion to do any damage since the kid wouldn't want to follow the instructions for 45 minutes. Well, thanks again! I've learned a lot! Best, Iza

I'm not sure if this topic belongs here since it is a question about ballet teaching but since I am not a dancer nor a ballet parent, I decided to stay in this forum and ask it anyway. How safe is it for a person who didn't have ANY training in ballet (and knows it only from watching live or recorded performances) to try to teach a child (4-5 years old) some essentials of ballet by watching an instructional video? I am not thinking about turning it into serious classes but trying to introduce a kid to basic ballet steps in order to see if she really is as interested in it as she says. My sister, the girl's mother, tried to sign her for ballet classes but now, with the summer holidays coming, all courses are closed. I will be visiting them in the summer and thought of spending some time on teaching my niece some basic stuff. How likely is it that my lack of formal training will affect her and that she may acquire some bad habits that will be hard to eradicate later? If so, what do you recommend as an "introduction" for such a child? We've been playing together a lot of ballet scenes (she really is hooked on ballet and watches ballet DVDs whenever she can), with her trying to immitate some ballet poses and me supporting her and lifting. It was a great fan and for me a great way of bonding with my niece whom I see only once a year. I found a DVD called "Ballet 101 - A Beginner's Class" at amazon.com but I have no idea if it can be helpful in such an undertaking? Any suggestions? Thanks in advance! Best, Iza

Being an Estonian, and raised in an anti-communist family, I am coming from the same place you are, Iza. I appreciate the rest of your post as you explain how maturity helps you look at art as art, without the politics attached to it. I still have trouble with separating it out, and I don't apologize for it either, given the atrocities that occurred under the Communist system.It wasn't easy for those ballet dancers, either, who had to conceal their capitalist leanings in order to be able to dance and indeed, not be persecuted. And there were many of these "closeted" individuals, and not only in the world of ballet, of course. I have the Sleeping Beauty video and don't consider it one of my favourites, probably because of my residual feelings. I concede that Kolpakova was the great dancer she was, there's no question about that, but give me Asylmuratova or Sizova any day as Aurora. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> It was one of the most demoralizing aspects of communism (or any totalitarian system) that people had to join the party in order to get a good job or in some cases - any job. Some never had any problems with that: they were born into communist families and didn't know any other "reality". Some, however, adapted pretty well to the demands of the regime. I guess it was never as hard in Poland as it was in Russia or many other Soviet countries but the communist mentality is still one of the most destabilizing factors in the new order. Still, I think with ballet, where so much in the future career depends on early schooling and real talent, there was probably never many people who made careers only because they joined the party. Ballet is not singing which you can learn in a couple of years and become a mascott of the regime. I felt a really great relief when I started appreciating Soviet artists for their merits only and looked up my "Ballet Encyclopedia" only for pictures (well, not really, I still like lurking into the bios but my reading knowledge of Russian is getting poorer and poorer so I am having a harder time finding the names there ) but those "residual feelings" are still there particularly when you remember the evils of this system and what it did to all of us, including those who never had any troubles endorsing it. Best greetings, Iza

I've seen that "Sleeping Beauty" many, many years ago and I must have disliked Kolpakova for I was ecstatic to find out in my soviet "Ballet Encyclopedia" that she was a party member . Being a Pole and raised in an anti-communist family, I had this very peculiar satisfaction whenever I found out that ballerinas and ballerinos who I didn't like belonged to the party (but if I liked a dancer who happened to belong to the party, i would simply say "Oh well, it happens..."). I'm laughing at it today, not so much because some of the wounds healed, but because my knowledge of ballet matured (so did I) and so many of those dancers I disliked previously turned out to be my favorites today (e.g. Bessmertnova). It also helped that I wasn't a rebelious teenager anymore and started looking at art as art. I guess it's the same mechanism that makes some people reject some of the great German artists because they belonged to the Nazi party. I never had that problem but I still can have a hard time accepting some of the Polish artists who were "collaborators". As to the encyclopedia, one of the first things you read in each biographical entry was the date and place of birth and then, if applicable, the date of joining the communist party! Still, it was a fabulous book to look at pictures, probably one of the most luxurious ballet encyclopedias you'are likely to encounter. I still love browsing it for the pictures. And Kolpakova? I tried to watch this Sleeping Beauty again but the copy in my rental store was so bad that I had to give up. I'll probably grab it as soon as it comes out on DVD (if ever). I've seen her in some excerpts and she also took part in the Canadian series "Footnotes" where she struck me as very elegant. Best greetings, Iza

Another choleric! As to the magic number, I was also puzzled but it turns out that while you tick the answers, the machine counts them for you so before you click on the last question, go to the top of the page and it will tell you the magic number. Then you click on the appropriate "magic number" at the bottom of the page. Mine was 35% so I clicked on "My magic # is less than 50%" Best, Iza

Thank you very much! I didn't expect an answer from the author himself! This is a great occassion for me to thank you for this wonderful book which over the last months has been my best companion, not only as a guide through ballets but also as a bedside reading. I hope it will stay in print forever, hard or soft cover! Iza

I'm sorry if this is a silly question but I have a hard time figuring out the difference between Greskovic's two big ballet books: "Ballet 101" and "Ballet. A Complete Guide". When I got "Ballet 101", I was disappointed it was available only in paperback which was strange but in a way understandable considering the target audience. Now I see this other book, apparently published in 2000, in hardcover and I wonder if its contents overlap with Ballet 101's or if it's a completely different book. Both books are called - one way or another - "A Complete Guide" (To Learning and Loving the Ballet - adds "Ballet 101"), both have a preface by Baryshnikov. Both seem to have more or less the same number of pages. Does anybody have BOTH books and could tell me if "Ballet. A Complete Guide" is simply a hardbound version of "Ballet 101"? I would like to replace my "Ballet 101", which is falling apart, with a hardcover edition. Thanks a lot! Iza

Natalia, thanks a lot for all those links! I will try to get the book sometime in the summer, maybe during my trip to Poland. Looking for more info on Plisetskaya's b'day celebrations, I found this site of Maris Liepa with some recent pictures of Maya: http://www.liepa.ru/maya80/reliz-eng.htm She looks GREAT! Once again, thank you very much. Best, Iza

I've just read your post about Plisetskaya and I am interested in this new photo album. Is there any way to get it in the USA? Or, if not, is there any Russian mailorder bookstore, a kind of Amazon, that one can get it from. I read some Russian but I don't have cyrilic characters on my keyboard. Do you know of any such place and could give me a link? I would be very grateful! Thank you in advance, Iza

Also, look at the post about Bolshoi's visit at the MET - they will be playing The Pharao's Daughter in JULY! Best, A.

Well, as far as I remember, there isn't any ballet in Falstaff. I have the DVD you mention (LaScala) and there is no mention of La Scala Ballet in the cast. Di Nissa is a singer. Amazon often makes mistakes in description of their product. Gluck - I haven't seen this production but Gluck - being basically a French (in spite of being German) opera composer - certainly guarantees ballet scenes. This particular production was very controversial and if it does include ballet, it would be a modern dance group. But I can't really say. I love the opera itself but know it only from recordings. I'm no expert on Verdi so maybe sb else can help you out here. I don' t know this particular production of Giulio Cesare but ballet scenes in Handel operas are generally not extensive. In GC there isn't any special need for a ballet but there may be some dancing, depending on the director. I would get a DVD of Giulio Cesare for the opera itself though - gorgeous stuff (but as far as I know, no perfect DVD of it is available yet. I rather like the English national Opera one, under Mackerras, but it's in English, not the original Italian, though it makes it much more fun to watch!). Well, Mazeppa isn' t bad music at all and as a fan of ballet you might actually be interested in hearing Tchaikovsky in some of his operas. Maybe Mazeppa is not the best to start with - it is rather sad and involves a serious historical plot - but you could try Eugene Onegin, for example. There is always some dancing in Tchaikovsky's operas but those are usually either court or folk dances (or both) and they are always important to the plot. If I had to choose one Tchaikovsky opera, I would go for Onegin - there is quite a lot of dancing there and it is really good music and interesting plot. Anyway, Ruslan&Ludmila will keep you busy for some time! Ariodante

I've read a few rave reviews in French and one in English (http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2005/Feb05/pugni.htm) and I looked for the DVD in American shops but had no luck. Even in France where the DVD was originally released by a small company BelAir, it is not available in shops like Amazon.fr... But the good news is that the DVD plays in all regions so if you get it from Europe you shouldn't have any problems playing it, at least on your computer (the British review says there is currently no NTSC version listed). I think I'll give in and try to get it from Europe. Best, Ariodante PS. I've just checked: it is available in fnac.fr for ca. 30Euro (but here they say it's region 2, that is Europe but they may simply be wrong as Amazon often is in these matters) and from a British store Crotchet http://www.crotchet.co.uk/cgi-bin/cws/scan...cl?mv_pc=zmusic for about 28 pounds (seems more expensive than in France). It's been released in France already in September 2004! Since it is so hard to get in its country of orogin, I doubt it will come to the US soon...

Some of the most breathtaking ballet scenes are in Kirov's production of Glinka's "Ruslan and Ludmila"! (DVD Philips) This one is really worth getting! In general, any French opera should have a ballet. Try to get some baroque operas by Rameau - there is quite a few of them out on DVD (Platee, Les Boreades). They are mostly done by French opera comapnies, usually with a modern twist which may be a blessing or a curse, depending on what you like. I love the dancing in Platee - it is modern and funny. Les Boreades may be fun to watch for a while but then the ballet seems very repetitive to me (although the choreography is quite stunning). Massenet's "Manon" has indeed a ballet scene which is beautifully done in the production released by TDK (with R. Fleming). Tchaikowvsky's Eugene Onegin also has some dancing.

Great to hear it! Thanks for letting me know! So she IS IMMORTAL! Best wishes, Iza

It's strange - I answered your message yesterday but I don't see it! It was a simple Thank you, but one can never thank enough, so I'll do it again! :rolleyes: :rolleyes: My best, Izabela

Whenever I see Natalia Bessmertnova, I keep thinking about how apt her name is... if I translate it right. To me it sounds like "Immortal" (bes - "without", smert - "death"). I never actually had the occassion to ask a native speaker of Russian if my "analysis" is right, but even if it isn't she'll always be "Immortal" to me Greetings, Izabela

Hi, please, forgive me if this question is ridiculous but it bothers me and I don't know where to look for an answer. In the booklet to DVD with a wonderful Bolshoi performance of Glazunov's "Raymonda" (ArtHausMusik) there is a following phrase: "(Glazunov) didn't want to submit to the requirements of the choreography and felt that the specification of a 32-bar period, for example, was a corset cramping his style....". "Raymonda" was G.'s first ballet score and what that quotation implies is that he felt restricted by some of the strict rules that writing ballet music would impose on him. This made me realize that indeed, much of classical ballet music is based on a 32-bar period. Why? What is so special in a 32-bar period from a dancer's point of view? Does it have anything to do with some physical aspects of dancing? While writing an opera, composers have to take into considerations the limitations of the human voice, particularly of the singers they create a role for. While writing music for specific instruments, they have to think of many physical aspects of the performance, e.g. the length of performer's breath in the case of wood instruments. Does a 32-bar period have anything to do with such "technical" matters or did it become a basic unit in classical ballet for some other reasons? Thank you very much for any input! Best greetings, Izabela